Living the devout life

They heard a call for a distinctive life and answered it to live a life of service — of service to the people, to God and to the Catholic Church

For Abbot Charles Wright of the Prince of Peace Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and retreat center in Oceanside, living the devout life is all about "gaining," not sacrifice. "I did not take a leap that was any different from the leaps other people take. You take a leap when you get married. You take a leap when you join the Peace Corps. You take a leap when you become a parent. I never looked at it as a leap away from something. It was an assimilation into something larger than oneself."
— Sean M. Haffey

For Abbot Charles Wright of the Prince of Peace Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and retreat center in Oceanside, living the devout life is all about "gaining," not sacrifice. "I did not take a leap that was any different from the leaps other people take. You take a leap when you get married. You take a leap when you join the Peace Corps. You take a leap when you become a parent. I never looked at it as a leap away from something. It was an assimilation into something larger than oneself."
— Sean M. Haffey

He is now leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, which makes the new Pope Francis a man of great influence to a great many people. But even before he addressed the cheering masses in St. Peter’s Square this week, the man formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was living a distinctive life.

As a priest, he has dedicated himself to the church and its people to the exclusion of everything else. There is no marriage, no children and no life independent of the church.

For many of us, it seems to be a life of unimaginable sacrifice. But for the religious men and women who live it, it is the only life they can imagine. The sacrifice would be doing something else.

According to the Diocese of San Diego, there are more than 300 priests and retired clergymen and 230 religious sisters in Imperial and San Diego counties. Each have their reasons for making the Catholic Church their family and making the work of God their vocation. Here are three of their stories.

Abbot Charles Wright

Up a winding Oceanside road studded by signs reading “Thou Shalt Not Park Here” sits the lovely Prince of Peace Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and retreat center. And inside the Prince of Peace Abbey sits Abbot Charles Wright, graduate of La Jolla High School and San Diego State University, lover of the violin and Gregorian chants, and a monk for 49 of his 78 years. He was elected abbot in 1994 and plans to remain on “this windswept hill” for as long as the hill will have him, which could be awhile.

“This life might have some sort of elixir in it,” he said, his eyes glinting happily behind his glasses. “Our last abbot lived to be 99.”

On getting the call: “I didn’t consider living the religious life until I was in the Army, because I was very impressed by a chaplain. I tried many things when I was in the Army, but nothing was satisfying. I overheard a chaplain speaking about the abbey, and he said, ‘Why don’t you visit?’ That was in 1961, and I never left.

“It was never a voice I heard in my physical ear. It was a calling, but it was also an attraction. I really think that if God is calling someone, he closes other doors that would be detrimental or misleading or attractive enough to pull one away from God. There were other possibilities that I had, but I felt this was my real calling.”

Why a monk?: “It was the idea that the monks were practical. They worked and they prayed, and that was the order. I like being able to work with people both in the community and the outside. If people knew the happiness that comes from being in a monastery, all of the monasteries would be very crowded.”

Closer to God than thee?: “Everyone has a calling and everyone is given the wherewithal to answer that call. Everyone has a certain combination of attractions, and those attractions are God given. Not everyone is called to live a life of community. Not everyone is called to take a vow of stability. I will be here for the rest of my life, but not everyone is called to do that. I think God wants us to be wherever we are. I don’t think he cares what we do for a job. It’s the disposition with which we do the job that matters.”

The sacrificial life: “I don’t look at it as a sacrifice. It is a gaining. I did not take a leap that was any different from the leaps other people take. You take a leap when you get married. You take a leap when you join the Peace Corps. You take a leap when you become a parent. I never looked at it as a leap away from something. It was an assimilation into something larger than oneself.

“My favorite part of the day is after supper. We have recreation from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and that is my preferred time to be by myself. That means the work is over, but the communication with God that I should have had during the day can finally happen.”

Father Richard Brown, who has been a priest in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Barrio Logan since 1968, says living the devout life is what he's known for much of his life. “I was in the Merchant Marine, and I was laid up in the hospital with smallpox. I was in a big ward with 20 other guys, and they were talking about women and using dirty language, and I thought, ‘If I ever get out of here, I’m going to be a priest.’ I called Our Lady of Guadalupe and I said, ‘I am Richard Brown and I have a vocation to be a Jesuit priest.’ Sixty-six years later, here I am.”
— Howard Lipin

Father Richard Brown, who has been a priest in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Barrio Logan since 1968, says living the devout life is what he's known for much of his life. “I was in the Merchant Marine, and I was laid up in the hospital with smallpox. I was in a big ward with 20 other guys, and they were talking about women and using dirty language, and I thought, ‘If I ever get out of here, I’m going to be a priest.’ I called Our Lady of Guadalupe and I said, ‘I am Richard Brown and I have a vocation to be a Jesuit priest.’ Sixty-six years later, here I am.”
— Howard Lipin

Father Richard Brown

He officially retired in 2005, but when the doors to Our Lady of Guadalupe open for morning mass every day, it is 85-year-old Father Richard Brown who is opening them. A graduate of St. Augustine High School in San Diego, Father Brown has been a priest in the Barrio Logan parish since 1968. He has a passion for San Diego State basketball and football, and like Pope Francis, Father Brown is a Jesuit priest with an unflagging dedication to children and the poor.

“I love working with poor people because they have great dignity,” the priest says. “They appreciate everything you do, and they never forget you. It’s pure love.”

On getting the call: “I was in the Merchant Marine, and I was laid up in the hospital with smallpox. I was in a big ward with 20 other guys, and they were talking about women and using dirty language, and I thought, ‘If I ever get out of here, I’m going to be a priest.’ I called Our Lady of Guadalupe and I said, ‘I am Richard Brown and I have a vocation to be a Jesuit priest.’ Sixty-six years later, here I am.”

A day in his life: “I get up at 3:45 in the morning. I come here and open up the church. I always do early Mass. After Mass, I visit the school or our other campus, or I’ll have a funeral. I go to Ralphs and buy the groceries for the (parish) house and for myself. I take a one-hour nap every afternoon. I’m in bed by 7:30.

“For praying, I do morning meditations for 30 minutes before Mass. At noon, I have a short little prayer. I say the rosary every day and I have nighttime prayers. If you don’t pray, you’re in trouble. You are person of God, and you have to have constant connection with God. God is always listening. God is always waiting for you.”

The sacrificial life: “The priesthood is not a sacrifice, and I’ll tell you why. A vocation of the priesthood comes from God, and if he’s going to call you, he will give you the graces necessary to do it. Celibacy is a gift from god. Either you have it, or you don’t. If you have trouble with celibacy, you probably aren’t meant to be a priest.

“As for not having children, I have thousands of children. They call me ‘Father’ forever. I have baptized over 20,000 babies. Everywhere I go, people say ‘Father Brown, you baptized me and you married me.’ It is a very satisfying life.”

Sister Tricia Cruise, who became a vowed member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1981 and is now president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, says of living the devout life: “I don’t think it’s a sacrifice. If I had chosen be married or to have children, that’s a wonderful life, but women who choose that life make sacrifices too. All of us sacrifice and face challenges. I believe people don’t always understand that their sacrifices are just as important as ours. I guess if one is happy, it’s not considered a sacrifice. I think of it as a gift, because I’m happy.”
— John Gastaldo

Sister Tricia Cruise, who became a vowed member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1981 and is now president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, says of living the devout life: “I don’t think it’s a sacrifice. If I had chosen be married or to have children, that’s a wonderful life, but women who choose that life make sacrifices too. All of us sacrifice and face challenges. I believe people don’t always understand that their sacrifices are just as important as ours. I guess if one is happy, it’s not considered a sacrifice. I think of it as a gift, because I’m happy.”
— John Gastaldo

Sister Tricia Cruise

Sister Tricia Cruise grew up in Boston in an Irish and Italian family where religion was just one of many things discussed with gusto around the kitchen table. But when she told the family she was becoming a nun, “My grandmothers were the happiest women in the world.” She became a vowed member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1981. Now 57, Sister Tricia was named president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages in 2011 following the retirement of Father Joe Carroll.

On getting the call: “My first teaching job was at a Catholic elementary school run by the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati. Obviously, I spent a lot of time with the sisters, and maybe I was just intrigued at the time. I was out of college and not doing much else except having a good time, and I talked to some of the sisters who were younger, and to be honest, I just thought I’d try it. Thank God that the religious life doesn’t happen overnight. There is a process you go through and it takes years. It’s hard to explain, but it just became part of my life. It felt good and it felt like this is where I was supposed to be.”

The sacrificial life: “I don’t think it’s a sacrifice. If I had chosen be married or to have children, that’s a wonderful life, but women who choose that life make sacrifices too. All of us sacrifice and face challenges. I believe people don’t always understand that their sacrifices are just as important as ours. I guess if one is happy, it’s not considered a sacrifice. I think of it as a gift, because I’m happy.”

A day in her praying life: “You have to make time for prayer. You can’t do this without saying, ‘God, I need your help.’ I have been here long enough that I’m becoming very recognized, which is all wonderful and good, but one still needs some downtime. Sometimes I go to church on Saturday nights or Sunday morning and just try to be with the people so I can ground myself again for the next week.

“My personal prayer is usually at 5 a.m. when I get up in the morning. Prayer may just be a reflecting of the day. It is not always a traditional prayer or a scripture, but just talking about what happened today. That is part of the faith. It’s the ability to say, ‘Wow, we were able to get that grant.’ Or, ‘We buried one of our clients today.’ Or, “I went and had lunch with the kids at the children’s center, and it was great.’ All those things are my ministry.

“Every day is a challenge, but every day is a gift. That’s my mantra. It has to be.”